Students helping students

I’ve always appreciated hearing students describe the academic atmosphere at Fletcher. We know how hard they work (guessing, based on the darkness of the rings under their eyes, which parts of the semester are the most challenging), but they always describe a collegial atmosphere in which they work hard for their own benefit, with no thought of holding back the other guy.

In this context, I enjoyed reading PhD student Erik encouraging students to let the Fletcher Graduate Writing Program help them. Here’s the email he sent last week, in which he could hardly have been more supportive:

Dear Thesis-writers,

If all the recent talk about commencement is only making you more agitated about your unfinished thesis, this email is for you. The Fletcher writing tutors are here to help.

Please consider stopping by the tutors’ desk immediately outside Ginn library sooner rather than later: we are available every Monday through Thursday from 2-5pm (when school is in session). You don’t even need an appointment.

If you’d like to discuss your thesis, consider the following in order to get the most out of your session:

1) Come prepared to discuss your topic, even if you’re in the early stages of formulating an argument.
2) Bring an abstract or detailed outline if possible.
3) Come with specific questions or problems you’d like to address.
4) If you have a long paper that needs work throughout, please select 4-5 pages that you’d like to examine with us in detail. We can then suggest how you might apply our suggestions to the remainder of the paper.
5) Don’t be shy! We are here to help, no matter where you are in the writing process.